Does anyone her volunteer in a cat shelter?

[NotTheFunKindOfFeminist]

I want a cat, but my husband doesn't. Therefore, we won't be getting one.

However, my urge for a cat is still here. Because of this, I'm thinking of volunteering at my local cat shelter. Has anyone done this? What kind of tasks do you do? Are you allowed to play with the cats?

I do for Cats Protection (sadly, can't at present due to health issues). There is a lot of cleaning following very strict procedures-the pens, bowls and litter trays then need washing up, laundry, carriers to clean after vet visits. Donations to put away.
When cleaning pens, there is the chance to fuss/play with cats. Once the "work" is done then you can spend time with the cats. Some volunteers expect it all to be cuddling cats so don't last long (even though the role is clearly explained).
It would be worth contacting local rescues to see if they need volunteers and what the actual role would entail. I think you have to accept that there is an element of cleaning.

There are lots of different volunteer jobs in rescues. Most of them involve cleaning. However we did, pre covid, have some volunteers whose only job was to play with the cats. We take lots of feral and semi feral cats and kittens, and the kittens can be tamed with a lot of socialisation. Similarly plenty of the very nervous/shy adults can also benefit from a lot of human interaction. It still involves leaning and sticking rigidly to infection control protocols but, apart from that, it is essentially just playing with cats ... for hours.

learning, not leaning ...